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Children’s commissioner warns of rise in eating disorders among children

1 min read Health
The number of young people starting treatment for an eating disorder has more than doubled in just six years as NHS wait times for support have increased, analysis from the children's commissioner for England has found.
The number of young people accessing eating disorder treatment has more than doubled in just six years. Picture: Alexander Raths/Adobe Stock
The number of young people accessing eating disorder treatment has more than doubled in just six years. Picture: Alexander Raths/Adobe Stock

Roughly 11,800 children and young people began eating disorder treatment in 2022/23, up from 5,240 in 2016/17, new analysis of NHS data by Dame Rachel de Souza's office has found.

Under-25s accounted for nearly half of the 24,300 people admitted to hospital for eating disorder treatment in 2020/21 – an increase of 84 per cent since 2016/17. The vast majority were young women and girls.

The analysis, which looked at trends in NHS data over the past six years, also showed that admissions of young men have nearly doubled since 2016/17, rising from 467 to 909 in 2020/21.

Waiting times for NHS treatment has also increased, the data showed, with 45 per cent of those seeking treatment for an urgent case in the last quarter of the year facing wait times of more than 12 weeks. This figure has risen from 16 per cent in 2016/17.

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